NPUST President Chang-Hsien Tai and delegates from the school recently travelled to Turkey to take part in an academic exchange with the support of the Taiwan representative’s office in Ankara. During the trip, NPUST and Ankara University established a formal relationship for academic cooperation.
On June 28 (2022), with Taiwan Representative Chih-Yang Huang in attendance to witness the event, NPUST’s president signed a strategic alliance agreement with the acting president of Ankara University, Professor Mustafa Fener. The focus of cooperation between the two universities will be placed on precision and smart agriculture, mechanical technology, and other related areas of research. Also, with consideration to the current international food crisis that is beginning to unfold, the two sides will work to solve issues related to food safety and food shortages.
In his speech at the event, Representative Chih-Yang Huang said “Taiwan and Turkey have been cooperating in higher education for many years, and National Chengchi University, National Cheng Kung University, and National Taiwan University of Art have each already put ink to memorandums of cooperation with Ankara University. Every year, these universities send teachers or students back and forth on exchanges, and are enjoying a long-term cooperative relationships with the country. Now, for the first time, NPUST and AU are also signing a memorandum of cooperation, and will be conducting very meaningful academic exchanges in agriculture”. NPUST President Chang-Hsien Tai shared on some of NPUST’s historical developments in tropical agriculture, and introduced the research they are currently conducting on “agriculture 4.0”. He also expressed his hopes that the two sides would be able to conduct close and successful cooperation in the future.
During their visit, the Agricultural College Dean, Hasan H. Atar, introduced the delegation from NPUST to the school. The university’s Agricultural College was established in 1933 and served as the only agricultural college in Turkey all the way up until 1955. The agricultural colleges that eventually took root at others universities in Turkey can for the most part be traced back to the Ankara Agricultural College. Ankara University is the most iconic university in the capital of Turkey and ranks among the best in the world. AU has cultivated many outstanding alumni who have gone on to be pioneers of humanistic thought and leaders in politics and business over the world. At present, there are 11 departments and 5 experimental farms at the university, including farms for animal husbandry, horticulture, viticulture, aquaculture, and dairy.
Since April of this year, the two universities have been holding video conferences with each other to discuss their intended focus for cooperation on agriculture. More in-depth cooperation between the two universities will be planned when Ankara University holds the 8th International Agriculture Congress in October later this year. NPUST has also invited students from AU to apply for the Ministry of Education’s “Taiwan Experience Education Program”, and offered a sincere welcome for teachers and students to come for exchange.
NPUST is grateful for the arrangements made by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Turkey, and hopes to see their cooperation with Ankara University make solid contributions to the development of the international agriculture, not only for the benefit of the people of the two countries involved, but also for rest of the world.
